Cook County Board of Commissioners

President Barack Obama on Sunday night helped launch an all-out effort by Democrats to get voters to the polls for Gov. Pat Quinn, telling thousands gathered at a South Side rally to cast their ballots when early voting starts Monday.

“Pat Quinn first took office nine days after I did. He took on the tough challenges. He made the tough calls,” Obama said during his remarks at Chicago State University’s Emil and Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center, named after the former Illinois Senate president and his late wife.

Obama sought to tap into his hometown popularity to energize the Democratic base in a non-presidential election year that typically sees lower voter turnout. It...

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